Maryland Nursing Home Lawyer Blog

Doctor Employed by Federal and State VA skirts Federal Claims in Nursing Home Negligence Lawsuit

December 10, 2013 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

A recent case that alleged harm under the Federal Tort Claims Act, DUCKWALL-KENNADY v. US, Dist. Ct., ED Ky. (2013), was dismissed due to the court’s finding that the doctor defendant was not acting within her scope of employment as an on-call doctor for Federal Veteran’s Agency, but rather in her capacity as a treating doctor for a state Veteran’s Agency.

The case alleged that the plaintiff’s husband became a patient of a veteran’s affairs center, called the Thomson Hood Veterans Center (“THVC”), which was owned and operated by the Kentucky Department of Veteran’s Affairs. According to the plaintiff, her husband suffered an accelerated deterioration of his health, ultimately resulting in his death, due to the physicians who worked in the home failing to take proper care of him.

The doctor who provided care for the plaintiff’s husband was simultaneously employed by the Kentucky Department of Veterans Affairs at THVC, where the plaintiff’s husband was a resident, and also maintained “on call” telephonic hours with the United States Department of Veterans Affairs at the VA Nursing Home in Lexington, Kentucky. While her patient, the doctor only provided care to the plaintiff’s husband at the THVC.

$114 Million Jury Award in Nursing Home Lawsuit

December 3, 2013 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

A decision reached within recent years in a nursing home case offers a glimpse into the realm of extensive punitive damages that may be available in nursing home neglect cases.

In the case, a 76 year old woman was place in a nursing home in Florida for rehabilitation. Throughout the course of her stay, the staff and facility reportedly knew that the woman was at risk for falls, but allegedly did not adopt any preventative measures in place in order to protect it from happening.

As a result, the woman reportedly fell within two weeks of being admitted. She suffered head trauma and a fracture to the upper arm. According to the lawsuit, she never fully recovered from the injuries.

D.C. Court of Appeals Examines Meaning of Reckless Indifference in Criminal Neglect of Vulnerable Adult Appeal

November 25, 2013 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

The D.C. Court of Appeals decided earlier this year in the appeal of a certified nursing assistant who was convicted of criminal neglect of a vulnerable adult.

The case, TARPEH v. US, 62 A. 3d 1266 – D.C. Ct. App (2013), centers on a discussion of what it means to be criminally reckless, as to meet the standard required to convict someone of criminal neglect of a vulnerable adult.

In Tarpeh, the appellant was a Certified Nursing Assistant (CNA), and was assigned the atypical task of transporting a patient, whose residence unit she did not typically work within, to a dental appointment in the D.C. area, an area in which she had never been. The result was essentially a disaster.

D.C. Court of Appeals Affirms “Interests of Justice” Standard in Waiving Notice Requirement in Medical Malpractice Claims

November 18, 2013 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

In the course of nursing home abuse and negligence cases, there are several procedural requirements that must be met in order to ensure that your case is in compliance with relevant state and federal laws. For example, in medical malpractice cases, the District of Columbia requires that you serve the defendant with notice of your intention 90 days prior to filing a claim. Failure to file this notice could result in your case being dismissed.

In a recent case case, Lewis v. Washington Hospital Center, DC: Court of Appeals 2013, the D.C. Court of Appeals discussed the proper standards of review and standard for allowing a case to move forward when the requirement that the defendant in a medical malpractice claim be given 90 days notice was not met. Although the facts in the case were not discussed, the plaintiff was attempting to sue a hospital on malpractice grounds, and apparently failed to serve adequate notice of her lawsuit to the hospital.

The hospital filed a motion arguing that the court should not allow for a waiver of the notice requirement, because in its opinion, a waiver is only proper when the lawsuit involves, “an otherwise unknown or unlicensed defendant, or a misnomer.” Since the plaintiff was not suing an unknown defendant, the hospital argued that the “interests of justice” waiver was not proper. Additionally, the hospital argued that a separate waiver for notice, when a showing of good faith has been made regarding attempts to give notice, was also unavailable, because that was not the case either. The hospital argued, therefore, that the case should be dismissed for failing to meet the standard.

Abuse of 86 Year Old Alzheimer’s Patient Suspected in Alleged “Fall” Case

November 12, 2013 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

A Missouri family believes that their 86 year old mother with Alzheimer’s was abused in a nursing home where she was living.

The nursing home initially called the family to inform them that the woman had fallen in her bedroom. Her daughter reports that her mother’s eye was swollen shut, following what the home stated was a bad fall. The family members did not believe that a fall could have caused the injuries.

The woman’s daughter stated that the pictures from the hospital show her mother suffered a broken nose, broken cheekbones and bruising to her eye, and that she believes someone assaulted her mother, on at least one occasion. The family reportedly received conflicting stories regarding how their mother allegedly fell.

Nursing Home Abandons Patients, Leaves Them to Fend for Themselves

November 5, 2013 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

A nursing home in California has been in the headlines lately for allegedly abandoning its facility, and therefore patients. One patient suffering from dementia went missing for several days, until he was finally located by law enforcement officers over 30 miles away.

Government officials began a criminal investigation into elder abuse at the closed residential care facility, where fourteen patients were eventually moved from hospitals to other skilled nursing homes.

The facility had reportedly been battling with California’s elder care oversight agency for months over the state’s attempt to revoke their license over a host of unfixed violations at both this location and another one run by the same family. The lawyer representing the family disputes any allegations of wrongdoing, and alleges that the home was properly staffed for the small number of mostly indigent residents still waiting to find a new place to live.

Nursing Assistant Convicted of Abusing 89 Year Old Nursing Home Patient

October 25, 2013 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

A Delaware jury recently convicted a certified nursing assistant of abusing an 89 year old woman at a local nursing home. The specific charges were patient abuse and mistreatment of an impaired adult, stemming from an incident where the assistant allegedly placed a trash bag over the elderly woman’s head as she sat in her wheelchair last February. The victim, who suffered from severe dementia, was not injured.

She was additionally ordered to stay away from any facility providing care for the elderly during the course of her six month probation period. Additionally, following notification of the U.S. Department of Health and Social Services, the agency can further bar the woman from working in a facility that receives federal health care funds for a minimum of five years.
While this incident reportedly took place in Delaware, it could just as easily have happened in Maryland, or any other state. Nursing home abuse is far more common than we would like to believe. Sometimes, as in this case, the victim isn’t physically harmed, but the true ramifications of the abuse may never be known. Additionally, what is further troubling about this case in particular is that there is no guarantee, nor in fact any legal barrier, that will ensure that this woman is prevented from resuming as a certified nursing assistant in another nursing home once her six month probation term comes to an end.

Five Deaths Allegedly Result of Nursing Home Neglect

October 18, 2013 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

According to at least one report, at least five elderly individuals died as a result of a systematic incidence of neglect at a care home that was rated “good” by the relevant official regulator.

An additional fourteen residents also died, though of reported natural causes, after receiving “sub-optimal” care at the home.

A five week long investigation revealed that residents were routinely given overdoses of medication, and were often left in soiled provisions and in pain during two years of staff shortages and mismanagement. The home has also allegedly engaged in deliberate cover up behavior, such as shredding medical records.

Adult Care Home Owner Faces Numerous State Criminal Charges

October 10, 2013 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

Earlier this month in Florida, the owner of an adult care home was charged in regards to multiple allegations related to the mistreatment of residents, which included such things as abusing residents, failure to provide an adequate number of beds, restraining a resident with handcuffs, and other crimes.

According to a statement from the Florida Attorney General, the formal charges against the woman included neglect of a disabled adult, false imprisonment, aggravated abuse and exploitation.

Authorities allege that the owner failed to provide medical services for at least one resident’s wounds, did not provide an adequate number of beds for residents of the home, restrained at least one disabled adult with handcuffs, abused at least one disabled adult causing wounds on her wrists and permanent disfigurement, and additionally failed to pay at least two disabled adult residents their required monthly personal needs allowance. According to the Attorney General’s statement, the woman is facing up to 60 years in prison and $40,000 in fines.

Arraignment in Nursing Home Abuse Case

October 4, 2013 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

According to the Attorney General in New York, a nurse’s aide was arrested recently based on allegations that she physically and mentally abused an elderly woman under her care in a nursing home.

The aide was charged with one count of second-degree endangering the welfare of an incompetent or physically disabled person, two counts of willful violation of health laws, and one count of second-degree endangering the welfare of a vulnerable elderly person or an incompetent or physically disabled person.

According to reports, the aide led the patient to her room in August, where the patient then became difficult, and hit the aide in the face. The aide allegedly then grabbed the woman by the wrist and twisted her arm behind her head, causing her wrist to fracture. The aide additionally allegedly hit the woman in the face with the woman’s own hand, and then with a pair of urine soaked undergarments.